Equity at NFF

NFF will continue to support organizations led by and serving people of color as we listen, learn, and grow.
Click here for a list of organizations you can support in the fight for justice and equity.
Our Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Communities know their own needs and should be able to make decisions about their future. Yet many communities of color and organizations led by people of color don’t have this opportunity. They have faced decades of disinvestment because of deeply entrenched institutional barriers in how money flows.
As an organization whose primary business is to provide capital and financial advice, NFF is best able to address inequity by helping community-centered organizations gain control of financial resources.
We acknowledge that our access to financial and social capital, and the fact that we have been white-led for 40 years, gives us privilege that many organizations on the front lines fighting inequity do not have. We will use our position to advocate for change in the nonprofit sector to build a more equitable nonprofit financial system and actively support grassroots organizations in championing their own needs.
Our aim is for every aspect of our work to advance racial equity. This will require a variety of efforts, some already in place, to evaluate growth opportunities to ultimately guide us to a new way of working with our clients and within our organization.
In March of 2020, we formed our Social Innovation and Equity Council (SIEC). Led by Lacy Serros, the SIEC works to ensure that our past shortcomings are acknowledged and addressed, and NFF’s commitment to equity is operationalized in our internal and external work going forward. Read more about SIEC here.
Our Latest Work
We are proud that our work is mission-driven and guided by our values. While not all of it is specifically equity-focused, here are examples of ways we are advancing racial equity that represent our growing commitment to this value.
Working to lead the community finance sector toward equity.
Catalyzing Finance for Racial Equity (CFRE) is a project dedicated to showing how Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) can support economic justice and promote racial equity through investments.
Promoting equity in COVID-19 response.
NFF has focused on equity in response to the pandemic by: Giving unrestricted grants to 22 organizations led by people of color, made possible with a $250,000 grant from Fidelity Charitable Trustees;
Working with clients on the front lines of racial justice.
Community Connections for Youth (CCFY) is a Bronx-based organization that seeks to reform the juvenile justice system with alternatives to incarceration.
Addressing the cultural needs of our diverse clientele.
The Theater Offensive (TTO) is a theater company in Boston presenting liberating art by, for, and about queer and trans people of color.
Committing internally to our value of Equity in Action (EIA).
We host regular EIA forums for staff to learn from guest speakers, discuss how we are addressing EIA in our client work, and our internal policies.
Sharing our knowledge to inspire others to work toward equity.
Our staff, clients, and partners contribute stories, blogs, podcasts, and videos about how to increase equity in social sector funding.
Organizations we encourage you support in the fight for justice and equity:
- Anti Police-Terror Project
- Black Lives Matter
- Black Movement-Law Project
- Black Voters Matter
- BOLD
- Bread & Roses
- The Brotherhood/Sister Sol
- Campaign Zero
- Color of Change
- Common Future
- Crossroads Fund
- Community Street Team (NCST)
- Dream Corps: #cut50
- Ella Baker Center for Human Rights
- Equal Justice Initiative
- Equity and Transformation (E.A.T.)
- Fund for Black Journalism
- H.E.L.P.E.R Foundation
- Highlander Research and Education Center
- Justice LA
- Just Leadership USA
- LIFE Camp, Inc
- Life Comes From It
- Minnesota Freedom Fund
- The Movement for Black Lives
- NAACP
- National Black Food & Justice Alliance
- National Institute for Criminal Justice Reform
- National Police Accountability Project
- New Jersey Institute for Social Justice
- People's Advocacy Institute
- PowerU
- The Professional Community Intervention Training Institute (PCITI)
- Progression Partners
- Showing Up for Racial Justice
- SiOP
- Southsiders Organized for Unity and Liberation (SOUL)
- Spirit House
- Texas Organizing Project (TOP)
- Vera Institute of Justice
- W. Haywood Burns Institute for Justice, Fairness & Equity
We will continue to update this page with our latest efforts around diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Last updated: November 3, 2022